Night of Fire
by Xardion
Summary: Sequel to Always There. CloudTifa shortfic. Lime. Please R


Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII, FFVII: AC or any of the characters within.

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_AN: Lime warning. Enough said…_

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_**A night of fire**_

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_'Wow, it's hot.'_

That seemed to be an understatement for the woman as she roused herself from her bed. It was late in the evening, but the near 95-degree temperature made sleep difficult. Luckily for Marlene and Denzel, their room had air conditioning, so they were quite comfortable. Unfortunately for Tifa, the conditioning in her room had broken down and she was stuck with a small fan with did little to nothing to cool her off. So she decided to head downstairs to the bar and stay with the fan in there.

"Ughh…"

As if the heat wasn't bad enough, while trying to sleep, she developed a horrible creek in the back of her neck that just wouldn't come out. She entered into the bar rubbing her shoulder in an effort to get it out, but it was a slight and seemingly vain effort. The fan blew down her from overhead and even though it was slight, Tifa was grateful for the comfort. Sitting on the couch at the far end, she continued to try to work out the cramp in annoyance. As she did, her gaze went out the window. Fenrir wasn't there, meaning that Cloud was late coming back…again.

_'...Cloud...'_

Almost immediately, his image entered into her mind. His spiky blond hair and dreamy eyes had him border the line of cute and rugged. His well muscled developed from the after years of battle along with his mastery of large swords.

He was simply…just right…

It hadn't occurred to her that she was beginning to bite her lip when it did, she shook her head. She really never thought of him that way before, but ever since that kiss… And it wasn't hard either. Cloud was a handsome guy. A few women have glanced in his direction with flirtatious looks, but they usually did nothing more. What she didn't know was that was largely because of her. When people saw them together, they generally thought that they were, well…together. Which only just happened, sort of.

As earlier mentioned, this wasn't the first time those type of thoughts entered her mind. Sometimes, when she would go to bed, she would imagine Cloud coming in upon her to give her a goodnight kiss, which would turn into… a little bit more. Sure, they had their sweet moments, a short but tender kiss either on the cheek or lips, small things that showed his love for her. And she was touched by those very much. But she found herself yearning for more. She was probably lusting, she knew. But it couldn't be helped.

If only he knew how she felt…

- - - - - - - - -

The hot wind continued to blow on Cloud's face as he drove into Edge. It was as if a ruby dragon was breathing down on him. He's lucky that he's wearing goggles, otherwise the sweat on his forehead would have blinded him and he could have had an accident. That would be the last thing he needed right now. But at the very least, if that did happen and he survived, he could always count on Tifa to nurse him back to health.

"Tifa..."

Here we go again... Ever since that kiss, her image had always managed to enter his mind. Not that it hadn't come up before, but now it was almost constant. He didn't mind it, but now the image seemed to change. Before it was a clear image of fondness and close friendship, something that appears when he feels down about something, that it would raise his spirits.

But now it was different. True, the care and affection was there, but there was also something that was drawing him to her more so than before. The man shook his head. He wasn't stupid enough not to notice that Tifa was a very beautiful woman (Although in retrospect, it did take him years for him to fully realize it). But more than that, she was a strong woman. She didn't let anything put her down, no matter how hard it was. Always the one to cheer others up. This personality made her all the more alluring.

_'Alluring...?'_

He wasn't sure if he was surprised by the word he used or the meaning. But it was true in any case. His feelings for her were growing. He already declared his love for her, so where to go from here? He shook his head as the Seventh Heaven bar came into view. Maybe he was thinking too much about it. Or the summer heat was making him delirious. Either way, this would be an issue for him to think about.

If only she knew how he felt…

Parking the motorcycle, he made his way into the building, locking up behind him. There was the cool of the overhead fan, but nothing else. With an inward sigh, he began to make his way toward the stairs, working to keep himself quiet so as to not disturb anyone who was asleep.

"You're late."

Stopping short, he turned to the couch where Tifa sat. Cloud found himself short of breath for a few short minutes upon seeing her. Her skin, slightly damp with sweat, seemed to shine and make her glow before him. Scratch what he thought earlier. Tifa wasn't just beautiful. She was painstakingly, breathlessly beautiful. _'Have I really been so blind?'_ It took quite a bit for him to regain his senses and answer her.

"Sorry about that." Hoping to change the subject before she noticed his discomfort... "How did things go here?"

"Same old, same old..." she waved, forgetting about the pain in her neck until afterward when it snapped at her. "Ghh..."

"You okay?"

"Oh, I was just trying to sleep and I caught this instead." she grimaced, rubbing at the spot again, but having little success.

"Here. Turn around."

Tifa blinked as Cloud sat beside her. She hadn't even notice him move up to her in the first place. Smoothly, Tifa turned the side as Cloud reached up to her neck and brushed her hair to the front. The long strands flowed down in front of her as Cloud gently placed his hands on the pained area and began to apply pressure. At first, Tifa winced at the touch, but as his fingers and palms began to pulse around, she found herself relaxing. The pain she had felt before was slowly, but surely ebbing away.

"Mm...hm..."

It wasn't long before soft moans escaped from Tifa's lips, arousing the young man behind her. He began to rub her shoulders more gently, wanting to hear more of her light cries. They were like angel's whispers to him and he enjoyed listening to them very much. This went on for a full minute, with Tifa relaxing her pains away unaware of the effect she was having on the man behind her. Soon enough, Tifa pulled away, moving her neck around and finding the creek in her neck was now absent. Turning to Cloud, she smiled a thanks, but noticed the vacant expression on his face.

"...Cloud?"

But Cloud was long gone. Caught in the soft tresses of her eyes, Cloud stared at her without looking away. Tifa was a bit shaken by this, but she couldn't turn away either; his sapphire blue eyes holding her in place. She felt his hands slowly, but surely move up from her shoulders and onto her cheeks. She saw his eyes lid close partly as he moved closer. She felt her heat race nonstop as he moved ever closer, holding her cheeks delicately as he sealed the gap between them.

_'Mmm...Cloud...'_

Reaching up, she placed her hands over his wrist, but didn't pull his hands away just yet. Not when this feeling was so good. The heat from the weather was hardly a match for the heat they felt from each other from this. Their lips soon parted, but they remained close.

"Tifa..."

"Shhh..." she whispered. "Later..."

It didn't long after that for their lips to meet again. But this was different from the other kisses they have had. The soft tender kisses of emotion and care...this didn't qualify as one of those. This one couldn't.

Not when it was laced with so much heat and passion...

Tifa was half-surprised by the assertiveness on Cloud's part, but she didn't discourage it by any means. On the contrary, she pressed back, practically driving her lips onto his as she returned the passion with interest, parting her lips ever so slightly in order to deepen the kiss. Cloud gasped at this, but she merely trapped his lips further, repeating the action. This may have been more that what either off them expected.

But they didn't care...

Still holding his wrists, Tifa pulled his hands away, allow her to wrap her arms around his neck and press on further. This caused Cloud to fall forward and plant her back on the couch. Yet they didn't stop. If anything, their mouthplay accelerated, drawing their tongues into each other to further the passion. As this went on, Tifa felt his hands sliding down her side, giving her ribs the same massaging sensation that started all of this. She trembled at the implications of this.

And reveled in it...

Cloud meanwhile was lost. He didn't even know what came over him to start with. He just saw those eyes of hers and was thought nothing save for her kiss. But there was also a hunger, a desire for more. Their small kisses and pecks from earlier days were only fuels for the flame. A fire that blazed hotter than the day itself. A fire that would consume them both. And as he felt her hands trail along his back, one thing was certain.

They would burn...

The kissing pair parted for a moment, but only to look on each other. They were short of breath, true. But they wouldn't have stopped regardless. Both seemed to want to say something, but there were no words to come forth. Only exposed emotions that had rose to the surface. Tifa then noticed the beads of sweat on his brow, both from the weather and their proximity. This brought about a simple yet tantalizing thought.

_'He must be hot...with all those clothes on...'_

Removing one of her hands from his back, she reached up to his forehead to wipe the beads of sweat away. Cloud looked at her strangely at this act, but her hand then moved downward, continuing to graze across his skin. Her other hand followed along, trailing down across fabric and feeling the taunt muscles underneath. She shivered again as she finally reaching down to his waist, grabbing hold of the shirt and gently pulling it upward. Cloud lifted himself up a bit, allowing her to take his shirt off and watching her discard it to the floor.

_'Wow...'_

She felt him shiver for a change as her fingers swept across his body, wanting to feel every bit of this handsome man before her. She watched his eyes seem to faze away, a sign that he was enjoying this. Probably not as much as she was, but that was her opinion. His eyes soon flashed open in effort not to fall completely under her spell. She noticed his gaze going lower and she then realized.

It was her turn...

Tifa rose up as Cloud slowly reached for her, grazing her neck in adoring fashion before lowering it to the lace of her shirt. Tifa shut her eyes as Cloud began to pull the garment down, guessing that she probably wasn't wearing a bra underneath due to the heat. Their hearts were racing faster than chocobos, but he didn't stop.

At least not until...

"Tifa?"

Her eyes snapped open out as they realized the new voice. Denzel... Luckily, the boy had not come around the couch, so he didn't see them...yet. Moving quickly, Tifa rose up from underneath Cloud and above couch level to look see the boy, pulling up her shirt in the meanwhile.

"Denzel. Is something wrong?"

The boy shook his head. "No. I was just wondering where you were."

"Well it's hot in my room, so I though I'd spend the night down here." she explained, all the while with Cloud beneath her.

"Do you want some company?"

"No." she said, almost too quickly. The boy gave her a strange look and Tifa continued with a more controlled voice. "That's okay. Go back to bed now."

"Okay. Good night, Tifa."

"Good night Denzel."

The boy began to go back up the stairs, but hten stopped and turned back around. "Oh, hey. Did Cloud get back yet?"

"You know Cloud." she smiled. "He's always somewhere."

"Yeah. Well, good night Tifa."

She bade him goodnight once again and watched him ascend up the stairs. It wasn't until she heard the door close that she looked away and back down ast Cloud, whom she was now straddling over between both legs.

"Perhaps..." Cloud began as he looked up at her. "This isn't the time..."

She knew what he meant. Denzel's arrival had caused their heated moment to pass. Plus, reason kicked in as they would have no way of explaining this to the children or anyone else for that matter when morning came. Though the emotions were still there, they couldn't really move on from there. At least not at this time. Still...

"I guess. But in the meanwhile..."

Reaching down, she caught the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, tossing it on the floor onto Cloud's shirt.. To his slight disappointment, she was wearing a bra. But even still, he saw more skin on her than ever before. Tifa then bent down and gave him a gentle kiss after which, she rested her head on his bare chest. Cloud put his arms around her as she snuggled close, despite the temperature. This night had revealed something to the both of them; that they had truly passed the phase of friendship and were on the border of lovers. They were stopped now, but next time...

_Next time..._

_Perhaps on a night like this..._

_A night of fire..._

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_AN: Was this too short? I am uncertain. Also, I tried to make this more emotional than sensual, but hey, I leave that up to you to decide._


End file.
